“Question the unquestionable.”

Why? Because humankind falls into the trap of the “status quo bias.” On the other hand, those who nourish the “Innovator’s DNA” get “a kick out of screwing up the status quo.” And in the process, they cultivate their innovation skillset.

Recall “The Innovator’s DNA by Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton M. Christensen; Harvard Business Review, December 2009.”

And why the blog argues that we have zero chance to undo our instincts, i.e., we can’t seem to overcome the status quo bias. We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism that we rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.

And Rizal was not surprised at all. He who submits to tyranny loves it. And demonstrated how immovable we are through the character of Padre Damaso – and challenged us, “Why independence if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?”

Ergo: We – the Philippine elite – are the present-day Padre Damaso.

Padre Damaso represents not only tribalism but theocracy as well. And why the blog reminds us of how Christ took the scribes and Pharisees “to task” – like a true radical – and risked his own life.

In other words, how can we claim “holier-than-thou” when ours is a culture of impunity? Not a surprise, if we recall Fr. Bulatao’s “split-level Christianity.”

We gave Duterte a 91 percent approval rating despite the free world condemning our war on drugs. Yes, it is ours now because we de facto embraced it when we screamed, “Sovereignty!”

Do we wonder why beyond the Vatican, we are the only other place where divorce is not allowed? Why? Because heaven is ours and ours alone, while the rest of the world is hell-bound? Does it sound like Padre Damaso? But we forget – as Fr. George Gorospe and Fr. Bulatao pointed out – our hypocrisy, i.e., the querida system.

Let’s digress and see what’s happening in the case of the US. They can’t be perfect given “perfection” is not of this world. And they, too, suffer from tribalism and theocracy. But it is not foreign terrorism that is the biggest challenge to the authorities. It is domestic terrorism, as in white supremacy.

“The US divorce rate began falling in the early 1990s and has since continued on an overall downward trend. In 1992, there were 4.8 divorces per 1,000 population. By 2016, this had dropped to 3.2.”  [Statista]

“The CDC and the Guttmacher Institute agree on the following trends: Following the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, which legalized abortion in all 50 states, the US abortion rate rose quickly, peaking in 1980 or 1981. After that, the abortion rate fell considerably more rapidly in Democratic administrations than in Republican ones. It has not fallen every single year, but it has not risen two years in a row since 1979 and 1980. The abortion rate fell below the 1973 rate in 2011 or 2012, and continued to fall through 2017.”

Then think of Mary Magdalene and the other sinners Christ embraced. Instead, he preached the Two Great Commandments. As Franciscan theologians would explain, Christ’s focus was on “public virtue” – or the common good, in today’s lingo.

Why? Because of the Creator’s unconditional love. It does not come from humankind’s good heart – or piousness.

Of course, theocracy meant that Christ had to die on the cross. Theocracy is not limited to the Ayatollah or al-Qaeda.

“In the eleventh century, a vast Christian army, summoned to holy war by the Pope, rampaged through the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean, seizing possession of Jerusalem, a city revered by both faiths. Over the two hundred years that followed this First Crusade, Islam and the West fought for dominion of the Holy Land, clashing in a succession of chillingly brutal wars, both firm in the belief that they were at God’s work.” [The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land  by Thomas Asbridge; Simon & Schuster, 2010]

Let’s get back to sovereignty that we can justify and rationalize our hypocrisy. It explains our instincts: see above.

The blog is eleven and going on twelve (years). The one question it continually poses is: How come Lee and Mahathir convinced Deng “to beg for Western money and technology to lift China’s people from poverty?” And here we are, still with the most restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution?

And who are laughing their way to the bank — our eight top companies combined that can’t match Samsung Vietnam’s revenues? To add insult to injury, we have to borrow hundreds of millions (dollars) to keep the 4Ps going.

And that is how we define and celebrate “inclusive” — aka paternalism. Or the status quo bias. 

And proudly proclaim our war on poverty. Is there a doctor in the house? Doctors live by the norms of cause-and-effect, while we’re stuck at the dualistic level, i.e., it seems beyond us that a structural problem is Greek to us. In other words, how could we assume that OFW remittances and the BPOs can drive the Philippine economy to glory? Industrialize. Industrialize. Industrialize.

But that’s not the only manifestation of our parochialism and insularity. We kicked out the US military because we wanted complete independence from the Americans. Yet, both Lee and Mahathir purposely invited their once colonial masters because they needed their money and technology. And we remain status-quo bound.

But we have a reason. The colonizers, especially the Americans, exploited us. And so, we would instead run to China? Have we asked ourselves why Vietnam embraced the Americans instead of China? Or why is the writer – representing USAID – even offered citizenship in Eastern Europe when these people lived through the Cold War?

Two things we are forgetting. Think of the Crusades. And then think of Rizal’s admonition against tyranny. Between a democratic system and that of autocratic rule, how should we regard China?

But they are paternalistic, and the Americans are not? What do we forget this time? Paternalism is the antithesis of democracy. That’s why the blog pointed out the parallels between Christianity – which we like to profess proudly – and democracy.

The latter demands self-government and personal responsibility to pursue the common good.

And as far as the Church is concerned, we are the Church, not the hierarchy. And that is why Pope Francis chose to camp out in the Vatican’s dormitory and not the papal residence. And instead of the common good, we are commanded to love our neighbors.

Let’s push the envelope. Recall the parable of the talents. Don’t we associate it with free enterprise? Recall the word “associating” from the “Innovator's DNA.” We must put to “good” use our God-given talents and resources. Otherwise, we can’t respond to the common good. Indeed, it takes creativity and innovation to reap the fruits of democracy and free enterprise. There is no free lunch.

And the Jesuits knew it from St. Ignatius, and here’s the layman’s version: God helps those who help themselves. In comparison, our elders interpreted it through the character of Juan Tamad. Of course, it has a converse, Take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

The Franciscans go further: Humankind is a co-creator in the story of creation – being made in the image and likeness of the Creator – to stress its dynamism. And we did not disappoint and employed and turned nature’s elements into countless things for humankind to thrive in this universe.

And that brings us to our GDP per person, i.e., it is at a third-world or poverty level. Why? Because we did not employ our talents and resources accordingly.

For example, we like to talk about climate change, yet how many Filipinos have died from rampaging floods because we have denuded our forests? But we are so mismanaged that we are still far from solving this problem despite the budget for reforestation.

On the other hand, the blog discussed Sweden’s thriving forest-based industry – i.e., perpetual –  a few times to demonstrate why we must move up beyond the dualistic level – either/or – in human development. Harvesting forest resources does not mean denuding our forests.

Think of our series of – and never-ending failings – yet we never “questioned the unquestionable.”

For example, we in the chattering classes are raising hell because we mismanaged the pandemic. But we have mismanaged this nation for decades. What else is new?

And we are complicit in this mismanagement.

Read our media and how much we heap praises on ourselves, the Philippine elite. We scratch each other’s back “to preserve and protect hierarchy and sovereignty.” Because in return, we get the paternalism we crave. See above; who are laughing their way to the bank.

Recognition is not wrong; it is positive because it encourages performance. However, “Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

We won’t be able to step up to the plate and face our challenges squarely because our instincts put such heavy blinders that we lost the ability to look outward and forward. Beg for foreign money and technology. And Vietnam did – and became the latest neighbor to leave us in the dust.

Let’s hold it right there and speak to those heavy blinders. 

Consider: Rizal demonstrated through Padre Damaso that we equate hierarchy with authority and perfection. And that robbed us of the ability to look outward and forward. In short, creative thinking. Let’s not lose sleep over that. Instead, let’s recall George, Fr. George Gorospe, and his treatise on “reality” – and the Filipinos’ inability to problem-solve.

Those who have done experiments know what benchmarks are. For example, the whole world recognized the Asian Tigers as the benchmark for economic miracles. Unsurprisingly, Vietnam modeled its economy after the Asian Tigers.

Benchmarking is not our perspective of hierarchy and authority and perfection. A benchmark isn’t necessarily perfect, nor is a vaccine. Those taking cholesterol pills know their doctors monitor their liver function.

But to thrive in this universe, we look for benchmarks and models. But parochialism and insularity robbed us of that instinct. For example, to succeed in the free market environment, we must seek “benchmarks” and models.

But the free market is merely a subset of a more extensive set. Beyond local and global markets are even greater sets or models. Recall the photosynthesis phenomenon — nature’s model of an ecosystem, explain how living things thrive — and the story of creation. See above; humankind is a co-creator in the story of creation.

Let’s bring it further down to earth. The benchmark for democracy and free enterprise is the US. It doesn’t mean they are perfect. See above; how should we regard China.

On the other hand, the benchmark for economic development zones is the Pearl River Delta. Recall why our idea for Clark is already obsolete even before we start. Pearl River Delta is now on its 2.0 generation or iteration.

Translation: Don’t we laugh at ourselves when we fall for “pwede na ‘yan”? What about internalizing what it means and recognizing the price we pay — as in endemic poverty being the regional laggard — doing otherwise? See above; there are more significant sets and models to test our ability to thrive in this universe.

And why did the blog speak to the writer’s experience supervising the pharma unit of his old MNC-company? It’s the “B” word, again.

It is the only consumer packaged brand that reached almost 70 percent of global households. None has come close yet. But then again, this universe is dynamic. And why the writer is exploring tools and “tricks of the trade” coming down the pike with a 27-year-old.

Yet, what inspired the blog was not the writer’s old MNC-company but his Eastern European friends. That people can be born and raised socialists under Soviet rule yet embrace democracy and free enterprise. If that’s the macro challenge, they had a micro one too: To be an MSME and a losing proposition for eight years and recognized by the EU Competition Commission as a model enterprise.

Unsurprisingly, their town created an economic development zone – being a mere hundred kilometers from their port in the Black Sea – that attracted Western companies. What the wife saw as a god-forsaken place – that she questioned the writer’s acceptance to come as a volunteer – now makes her marvel and proud.

Because the future is now present – in AI and robotics – she could not imagine they can be an MNC, not based in the West. 

They would outperform the largest Western competition brand that the latter had to sell the brand. And these friends rejected the opportunity to buy it because, as the writer advised, they had developed a better product.

What is the moral of the story? Question the unquestionable.

And the bottom line for us Filipinos? “Doing the same thing over again” makes us the poster child of Einstein’s insanity definition. And yet, we in the elite class can’t shake off our hubris.

Gising bayan!

[It’s a New Year, and we’re also commemorating Rizal.

The blog is going into its twelfth year, but it won’t cease to hope that one day, sooner than later, that we Filipinos will have our epiphany.

The family joins the writer in wishing one and all a truly Kinder and More Generous New Year!]